Aloha, My Lusty Little Samoan

"Ako" is Hawaiian for "lusty" and my oh my, does the name ever fit! Not only is the delightful Ako one of the strongest, most varied, and least expensive clit vibes on the market, its playfully fun color, shape, and size make the Ako the perfect addition to any wahine's Edenic luau. The PicoBong Ako could make you happy enough to do a pantsless hula.

The Ako is designed to be, as PicoBong dubs it, an "outie vibe." That's to say that it's best for clitoral stimulation, but it's also good for nipple, labial, and non-penetrative vaginal stimulation (while there are 3 inches of insertable length, you'd lose the buttons after about an inch and a half).

As for who this toy is good for, the answer is everyone who has ever liked or wanted to like a vibe - well, except the Hitachi power queens. Ako's not going to give you the full strength of a wand, but for a clit vibe, the Ako performs powerfully. Not only are the vibes relatively strong at a low 4 vrooms, they are also incredibly varied. There are a full twelve types of vibrations, and while you cannot save your last vibrational setting as you can on some of the more pricey luxury vibes, if you're willing to scroll, the Ako will take you to where you want to go.

Both small and light, Ako could easily be used by couples in a foreplay scenario. No partner's arm will give out with the Ako, and Ako will not give up, and at a negligible 2 bees, Ako will be a fast friend of those in need of a little discretion. You may be able to hear Ako, but no one else in your house will as long as your door is shut. After many hours of play in a thin-walled apartment, my housemate is none the wiser!

The business end of the Ako is made of a beautifully smooth and safe silicone of the highest quality. Your fingers (and the rest of your body) will glide right over this flowing material, and as it's practically frictionless, your hair is safe. Silicone will pick up some lint (pretty much the only downside to going with this 10-for-10 safety-rated material), but it's non-porous, so it will naturally repel everything from bacteria to water. Oh yeah, and that tip about soaking silicone in warm water before use to give your play a little extra heat? Totally works and worth it on the Ako.

The only potential flaw of Ako's material make-up is that there is a slight seam down the middle of the concave side of the Ako, but it is not noticeable in use, and it is barely even visible. The silicone does not have a smell or a taste.

The Ako's shape and size make it ideal for clitoral stimulation (particularly with a partner). While the Ako may look perfectly rounded in many of the pictures on the product page, I was surprised to find that the toy tapers to a precision tip. This makes the toy ideal for those who enjoy pinpoint clitoral stimulation. Since pinpoint typically is not for me, I was disappointed with the Ako at first until I played around with it a bit more. Just below the tip, on the the concave side of the Ako, is a little divet that lends to broader more intense pressure, and if that's not your thing, by simply flipping the toy so that the convex side is against the clitoris you're able to achieve a broader-based stimulation on a smoother, more yielding surface. The vibrations stayed just as strong in all of these positions, and the only downside I could see was that, by flipping the toy over, it became harder to operate the buttons as a righty.

Despite negative press, the buttons have not been too complicated to get used to. The "+" and "-" buttons (corresponding to an increase and decrease in vibe power) are on either side of the "M" button (for scrolling through modes). The nice thing about the design here is that the "+" and "-" are embossed on their respective buttons while the "M" is engraved on its own. Even in the dark and in the middle of play, it is easy to tell the difference between them, and I have never suffered and accidental switch. As the buttons are also comfortably resistant to pressure, the vibes will never change just because your hand shifts a bit.

The plastic battery cap, which I admit I thought was a little weird looking at first, is oh so functional. The ridges and the near pentagonal shape lend to an easy and comfortable grip, and in terms of looks, it grows on you. There are some very peculiarly shaped grooves that lock the cap into place and require a little work to deal with at first, once you get the idea though, this thing's a cinch to close.

As for the weight, I'd dare say the 2 AAA batteries you put in the Ako weigh more than the toy itself. The Ako is so light and comfortable that, after some panty play, I literally forgot the Ako was there until I looked down and saw the Ako bulge in my leggings. Luckily, I was still in the house!

PicoBong has kindly provided a function diagram on the official product page which is great because I don't know how I could possibly keep track of the functions otherwise.

While trying to figure out what all of the patterns are can be difficult, figuring out how to get to them and what they're good for is pretty simple. After some arduous experimentation, here are my personal results:

The Rock- This is your standard "level vibe." It's simple, but on the higher power levels, this can also be rockin'.
Pulses- The pulses come in four different varieties-- regular, slow, mid, and "flash." The regular pulse is the typical rise and fall pattern you'll be familiar with from many patterned vibes, the slow alternates between the rise and "the rock," but this mostly feels like the regular, the mid speeds things up a bit, and the flash comes with a rapid pounding sort of feeling. Again these are pretty standard and good for a warmup.
Waves- There are four wave patterns divided into two categries -- half and full wave -- and differentiated by speed. The cool thing about these vibrations is that you can actually feel it as an undulation, and this gives it the sensation of being the most penetrating of the vibrations. These are pretty gentle vibes and good to leave on for the long haul.
Slope and Coaster- These give you the initial penetrating feeling of the wave followed by the pounding of pulses. These are great for pushing yourself over to orgasm. The coaster in particular, with its two extra pulses and faster speed has the potential to really get you there.
Bumper Cars- Random but relaxing. I wouldn't recommend this setting for a quicky, but it's nice in its own way. The general vibe strength is much lower on this function, and with no steady pattern, it can be hard to get into, but "bumper cars" can be a nice change of pace if you're just looking to take it easy.

I have only two major complaints about the vibrations. The first is that, if you slip into the Bumper Cars pattern without meaning to, you have to cycle all the way through to get back to your last powerful pattern. As there are 11 other functions before Bumper Cars, it's fairly easy to lose track of where you are.

The second problem I have with the vibrations is that there is no hard and fast differentiation between vibe strengths. While you press "+" or "-" to change strength, it's often hard to tell whether you've changed vibration strength or not, and each time I tried to count distinct strengths, I came up with a different number. My best guess would be between 5 and 7 strengths, but as a general rule, I don't like to guess.

One of the best bits of news about the Ako is that it holds up as a waterproof toy despite the lack of protective ring. I have used it several times in the shower, and although I have not tried it in submersion, PicoBong guarantees that Ako will remain waterproof for up to 1 meter of water submersion.

Because the Ako is waterproof, you can easily wash it off in the sink with just warm water and antibacterial soap. Because of the plastic battery cap and interior of the Ako, the toy cannot be boiled to sterilize, so if you want to be completely safe for toy sharing, the Ako should be used with a condom.

To keep the silicone at its just-out-of-the-box best, store the Ako away from other silicone products, and never use silicone lubricant with the Ako. Putting the silicone in contact with other silicone products will melt the toy, and the Ako is just so well-made, you don't want that to happen.

As the Ako does not come with a pouch and the box is a bit too large for my storage tastes, I've borrowed a small pouch from a discarded toy. If you don't have your own pouch, the Ako can just as easily be stored in the original packaging or in a sandwich bag.

The Ako packaging may not be perfect for permanent storage, but as with all PicoBong products, it's certainly sharp-looking. The packaging is not quite discreet because of the plastic window showing the product inside and the product descriptions on the back of the box including the words "foreplay," "vibe," and "pleasures," but the overall presentation is very tasteful nevertheless.

You can see here that the Ako is held in place by another box in the interior packaging. This ripped while I was trying to pull the Ako out, so if I were to use the larger box for permanent storage, it would be pretty loose without this.

Inside of the interior box is an instruction manual (fairly detailed), a 1-year warranty, and a small PicoBong keychain intended to be attached to the hole at the end of Ako's battery cap. I found that the keychain got in the way of my play, but as you can see, the keychain is pretty cute in its own right.

Ako has so many reasons to recommend it. It has strong, varied vibrations without numbing the clitoris in the slightest even after hours of play; it is well and thoughtfully crafted; and while Ako may not be able to get this burgeoning power queen to climax every single time, playing with Ako is always the peak of pleasure and fun. Ako is a great toy for a discerning buyer of clit vibes with the taste to ask for more and the savvy to get it for less.

Follow-up commentaryI still like it3 months after original review

The Ako is still one of the top three in my toy chest. I use it all the time, and while I sometimes take the power and variety on this one for granted after so much use, my friends quickly remind me about how much there is to appreciate in the Ako, particularly for such a limbo-low purchase price. Just yesterday I did a demonstration of the Ako vibe settings for one of my girl friends against the back of her hand. You could literally see her jaw drop, and in under 2 minutes, she was convinced this was a toy she needed to purchase for herself. Immediately. As for you, EF friend, I highly recommend that you do the same!

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